Chris Henry, right, poses with his fiancee, Loleini Tonga, and their three children — from left, DeMarcus, Seini and Chris Jr. Henry died Thursday of injuries he suffered Wednesday when he fell from the back of a pickup truck in Charlotte, N.C.

Indeed, his multiple arrests during a five-year NFL career were among the factors prompting the league to toughen its personal conduct policy.

But to hear his teammates tell it — even the team’s owner — the Bengals receiver was determined to leave behind his troubled past and move ahead toward a bright future.

Tragically, his efforts were cut short when he died from injuries in what police said was a domestic dispute with his fiancee.

Charlotte-Mecklenburg police said the 26-year-old Henry died early Thursday, less than 18 hours after he fell off of the back of a pickup truck on a curvy residential street about 8 miles northwest of downtown Charlotte.

The cause of death was not immediately released.

Henry was away from the Bengals after suffering a season-ending broken forearm in a game last month.

“We knew him in a different way than his public persona,” Bengals owner Mike Brown said. “He had worked through the troubles in his life and had finally seemingly reached the point where everything was going to blossom.”

Police provided few details about the investigation, other than that homicide detectives were assigned to the case. Two 911 tapes released Thursday provided some clues. The first was from an unidentified woman who said she was following a yellow pickup truck.

“It’s got a black man on it with no shirt on, and he’s got his arm in a cast and black pants on,” she told a dispatcher. “He’s beating on the back of this truck window. . . . I don’t know if he’s trying to break in or something. It just looks crazy. It’s a girl driving it.”

Just more than a minute later, an unidentified man called 911 and said he saw a man “laying in the road” and “definitely unconscious.”

Police spokeswoman Rosalyn Harrington wouldn’t say if the woman, whom police would not identify, was present at the scene when police arrived.

Henry and his 25-year-old fiancee, Loleini Tonga, who grew up in Charlotte and received a volleyball scholarship to North Carolina A&T, were raising three children. Tonga’s My-Space page identifies herself as “Mrs. C. Henry” and featured a post from Tuesday talking about buying wedding rings.

Two women who lived nearby said they saw Tonga and the pickup at the scene when police arrived. Cheryl Hoffman said she came out with a blanket when she saw Henry wasn’t wearing a shirt.

“When I got to where he was laying on the ground out there, he was very unresponsive, laying flat on the ground,” Hoffman said. “He was foaming at the mouth, and I was very worried what was happening then.”

Avalanche defenseman Erik Johnson had butterflies before Sunday's game against the Detroit Red Wings. It wasn't because of the big-name opponent, but rather his return from a 13-game injury absence and being stoked to rejoin a team in a playoff push and looking for its third postseason appearance in 10 years.